Friends
# CW: Guess what? Yeah, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or anyone or anything in this story (apart from Xatrina and Vivian), blah, blah, yadda, yadda. Bakura: Of course you don't own us! Who do you think you are, mate? Kazuki Takahashi? Joey: Ah, shut yer kisser, ya overgrown piece of - #
'He's gone home!'
'He's in the mansion!'
'Well excuuse me, Einstein, but I say he's gone home!'
'I tell you, he's in the mansion!'
'Well, fine, don't listen to your conscience. I know you know you're wrong!'
'I know that you think that I know that I'm wrong, but actually, I know you're wrong! You're just too scared to go in there and mess up your ponytail!'
'Well look who's talking, Mr I-wear-five-gallons-of-hair-gel-every-day-just- to-impress-Serenity!'
'Take that back!'
As you've probably noticed, Tristan and Duke had broken into an argument just outside the grand figure of the mansion.
'Hey, stop arguing guys!' Joey butted in, 'Let's just have a spitting contest instead! I just got one on that car way over there!'
'Oh, the multitalented youth of the twenty-first century!' sighed Mai, rubbing her temples.
'Guys, shut up!' shrieked Yugi, Téa and Serenity together, and there was silence, broken only by a faked whimper from Joey.
'Look!' cried Serenity, pointing to the great oak doors.
One was open, and standing in the entrance was their white-haired, pale- faced friend.
'And what have you got to say for yourself, Bakura!' Téa stormed up to him, fuming. 'You had the whole lot of us worried sick since half-past midnight last night.'
'Apart from me,' added Serenity, 'As I was only informed of your disappearance this morning.'
'Shut up.' Snapped Téa.
'I'm truly very sorry, fellows.' Bakura bowed his head, 'But before you go on, I'd like you to have almost as much pleasure as I did in meeting my new friend.'
'You kiss-up. Bet she's listening.' teased Duke.
'How do you know it's a she?' Bakura rounded on Duke.
'Oh! Are you hiding something from us, Bakura?' giggled Mai.
'No, I mean, well, it is a she!' Bakura blushed.
'I knew it was a she,' began Duke, relaxing slightly, 'Because one always makes female friends when one is a boy and one is drunk out of one's skull.'
'Fine.' Said Bakura, disgruntled, 'Chums, I'd like you to meet Miss Xatrina Moncrieff.'
'Soon to be Mrs Bakura.' Whispered Duke, but stopped as he caught sight of the girl stepping out of the doorway, shielding her huge eyes from the winter sun, her black hair swinging about her waist.
He looked from her to Serenity several times, then deflated with a small whine.
'You fellows ever heard of Vivian Moncrieff?' inquired Bakura.
'What? This is her daughter or something?' Tristan's eyes were wide.
'Yup!' Bakura beamed, his brown eyes creasing.
Yugi noticed how they were just slightly lighter that Xatrina's.
In fact the pair looked almost identical in eye and complexion colour, although Xatrina may have been just slightly paler, if it was possible.
Bakura turned to Xatrina and began to speak, but his adolescent voice failed him and he squeaked embarrassingly.
He cleared his throat and tried again, blushing.
'Maybe you'd like to join us. We could go to the arcades and the burger joint and stuff like that.'
'I'm sorry, young man, but she'll do nothing of the sort.' Vivian appeared at the door, her beautiful face lined and firm.
Duke and Tristan gave a simultaneous strangled gasp, and Serenity looked suspiciously from one to the other.
'We've been kind to you so far.' She continued coldly, 'We took you in when you were sitting drunk as a lemming in our flowerbed. You took the liberty of inviting yourself in, and we kindly agreed to let you stay. You could have shot us in the night! And now you're asking my daughter to wander around with you and your unruly friends. And even if you're honest, she can't be seen around town. If word gets out that I have a daughter, poof goes my career. It's bad enough that you know.'
I'm famous, thought Yugi, Now's the time to use it to my advantage.
'Excuse me, ma'am,' began Yugi politely, 'My name is Yugi Motou. I assure you your daughter will come to no harm.'
'Ah, I know you.' Vivian's expression changed for far the better, 'You're the world champ, eh? Showed that high and mighty Kaiba what for, so I hear. And Pegasus too. King of Games, aren't you?'
'Sounds like you have quite a passion for duelling, Ms Moncrieff.' Noted Bakura.
'Oh, I don't duel.' Laughed Vivian, 'but I love watching it.'
'I'm Duke Devlin.' Added Duke hopefully.
'Sorry.' Vivian smiled kindly, 'I haven't heard of you.'
'I invented Dungeon Dice Monsters.' Muttered Duke, embarrassed.
'Well, I see I was wrong about your friends, Bakura.' Apologised Vivian, 'At least some of them.'
She swept an eye over the scruffy Wheeler siblings, Tristan and Téa, but gave an abrupt nod to Mai.
Obviously she could tell who's upbringing had been 'good quality'.
'And we promise we won't tell anyone who Xatrina is.' Added Bakura.
'Fine.' Sighed Vivian, 'But if you're not back be nine this evening, I'm calling the cops.'
'We won't let you down.' Said Bakura firmly.
He grabbed Xatrina's wrist and ran off with the rest of his friends, waving goodbye to Vivian as he went.
The rest of the day was insane.
The gang took over the arcades, spending every last dime in their pockets on the games.
In the end, they had 'dance wars', hogging the dance mat game on which Téa had defeated Johnny Steps.
The final rankings were as follows:
1 Téa, 2 Serenity, 3 Yugi, 4 Xatrina, 5 Bakura, 6 Mai, 7 Duke, 8 Tristan, 9 Joey.
Joey refused to shut up about his embarrassing defeat until they all agreed to go to Bakura's place and watch movies.
Bakura sadly made the mistake of giving Xatrina an orange soda, which, he found, made her hyper.
By the time they returned to the mansion (only three minutes late), Xatrina was reeling and cackling, Bakura was glancing at her nervously, and the whole group was singing 'We are the Champions' at the tops of their voices.
Bakura and his friends waved farewell to their new companion at her door, and wandered back up the street to Yugi's place, to enjoy the rest of the holiday.
A figure, creeping silently up the deserted street.
Stopping at the great oak doors.
They fly open, unaided.
He cackles to himself. He is all powerful.
A huge golden pendant gleams around his throat in the blackness.
He enters, still laughing.
'Please stop!' cries the helpless boy, 'I don't want to hurt anyone!'
Too late.
You're going to have to soon.
# CW: Guess what? Yeah, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or anyone or anything in this story (apart from Xatrina and Vivian), blah, blah, yadda, yadda. Bakura: Of course you don't own us! Who do you think you are, mate? Kazuki Takahashi? Joey: Ah, shut yer kisser, ya overgrown piece of - #
'He's gone home!'
'He's in the mansion!'
'Well excuuse me, Einstein, but I say he's gone home!'
'I tell you, he's in the mansion!'
'Well, fine, don't listen to your conscience. I know you know you're wrong!'
'I know that you think that I know that I'm wrong, but actually, I know you're wrong! You're just too scared to go in there and mess up your ponytail!'
'Well look who's talking, Mr I-wear-five-gallons-of-hair-gel-every-day-just- to-impress-Serenity!'
'Take that back!'
As you've probably noticed, Tristan and Duke had broken into an argument just outside the grand figure of the mansion.
'Hey, stop arguing guys!' Joey butted in, 'Let's just have a spitting contest instead! I just got one on that car way over there!'
'Oh, the multitalented youth of the twenty-first century!' sighed Mai, rubbing her temples.
'Guys, shut up!' shrieked Yugi, Téa and Serenity together, and there was silence, broken only by a faked whimper from Joey.
'Look!' cried Serenity, pointing to the great oak doors.
One was open, and standing in the entrance was their white-haired, pale- faced friend.
'And what have you got to say for yourself, Bakura!' Téa stormed up to him, fuming. 'You had the whole lot of us worried sick since half-past midnight last night.'
'Apart from me,' added Serenity, 'As I was only informed of your disappearance this morning.'
'Shut up.' Snapped Téa.
'I'm truly very sorry, fellows.' Bakura bowed his head, 'But before you go on, I'd like you to have almost as much pleasure as I did in meeting my new friend.'
'You kiss-up. Bet she's listening.' teased Duke.
'How do you know it's a she?' Bakura rounded on Duke.
'Oh! Are you hiding something from us, Bakura?' giggled Mai.
'No, I mean, well, it is a she!' Bakura blushed.
'I knew it was a she,' began Duke, relaxing slightly, 'Because one always makes female friends when one is a boy and one is drunk out of one's skull.'
'Fine.' Said Bakura, disgruntled, 'Chums, I'd like you to meet Miss Xatrina Moncrieff.'
'Soon to be Mrs Bakura.' Whispered Duke, but stopped as he caught sight of the girl stepping out of the doorway, shielding her huge eyes from the winter sun, her black hair swinging about her waist.
He looked from her to Serenity several times, then deflated with a small whine.
'You fellows ever heard of Vivian Moncrieff?' inquired Bakura.
'What? This is her daughter or something?' Tristan's eyes were wide.
'Yup!' Bakura beamed, his brown eyes creasing.
Yugi noticed how they were just slightly lighter that Xatrina's.
In fact the pair looked almost identical in eye and complexion colour, although Xatrina may have been just slightly paler, if it was possible.
Bakura turned to Xatrina and began to speak, but his adolescent voice failed him and he squeaked embarrassingly.
He cleared his throat and tried again, blushing.
'Maybe you'd like to join us. We could go to the arcades and the burger joint and stuff like that.'
'I'm sorry, young man, but she'll do nothing of the sort.' Vivian appeared at the door, her beautiful face lined and firm.
Duke and Tristan gave a simultaneous strangled gasp, and Serenity looked suspiciously from one to the other.
'We've been kind to you so far.' She continued coldly, 'We took you in when you were sitting drunk as a lemming in our flowerbed. You took the liberty of inviting yourself in, and we kindly agreed to let you stay. You could have shot us in the night! And now you're asking my daughter to wander around with you and your unruly friends. And even if you're honest, she can't be seen around town. If word gets out that I have a daughter, poof goes my career. It's bad enough that you know.'
I'm famous, thought Yugi, Now's the time to use it to my advantage.
'Excuse me, ma'am,' began Yugi politely, 'My name is Yugi Motou. I assure you your daughter will come to no harm.'
'Ah, I know you.' Vivian's expression changed for far the better, 'You're the world champ, eh? Showed that high and mighty Kaiba what for, so I hear. And Pegasus too. King of Games, aren't you?'
'Sounds like you have quite a passion for duelling, Ms Moncrieff.' Noted Bakura.
'Oh, I don't duel.' Laughed Vivian, 'but I love watching it.'
'I'm Duke Devlin.' Added Duke hopefully.
'Sorry.' Vivian smiled kindly, 'I haven't heard of you.'
'I invented Dungeon Dice Monsters.' Muttered Duke, embarrassed.
'Well, I see I was wrong about your friends, Bakura.' Apologised Vivian, 'At least some of them.'
She swept an eye over the scruffy Wheeler siblings, Tristan and Téa, but gave an abrupt nod to Mai.
Obviously she could tell who's upbringing had been 'good quality'.
'And we promise we won't tell anyone who Xatrina is.' Added Bakura.
'Fine.' Sighed Vivian, 'But if you're not back be nine this evening, I'm calling the cops.'
'We won't let you down.' Said Bakura firmly.
He grabbed Xatrina's wrist and ran off with the rest of his friends, waving goodbye to Vivian as he went.
The rest of the day was insane.
The gang took over the arcades, spending every last dime in their pockets on the games.
In the end, they had 'dance wars', hogging the dance mat game on which Téa had defeated Johnny Steps.
The final rankings were as follows:
1 Téa, 2 Serenity, 3 Yugi, 4 Xatrina, 5 Bakura, 6 Mai, 7 Duke, 8 Tristan, 9 Joey.
Joey refused to shut up about his embarrassing defeat until they all agreed to go to Bakura's place and watch movies.
Bakura sadly made the mistake of giving Xatrina an orange soda, which, he found, made her hyper.
By the time they returned to the mansion (only three minutes late), Xatrina was reeling and cackling, Bakura was glancing at her nervously, and the whole group was singing 'We are the Champions' at the tops of their voices.
Bakura and his friends waved farewell to their new companion at her door, and wandered back up the street to Yugi's place, to enjoy the rest of the holiday.
A figure, creeping silently up the deserted street.
Stopping at the great oak doors.
They fly open, unaided.
He cackles to himself. He is all powerful.
A huge golden pendant gleams around his throat in the blackness.
He enters, still laughing.
'Please stop!' cries the helpless boy, 'I don't want to hurt anyone!'
Too late.
You're going to have to soon.